Weezer - Pork And Beans 7" - 2008

I'll give you warning now. These links won't stay live for long. Weezer is pretty mainstream and a big moneymaker for their label, so I'm just going to assume that if the links stay up, I'll have problems.

I have to say, I have been a Weezer fan since the beginning. A few weeks after "The Sweater Song" broke I saw Weezer open for Lush. There were about 40 people in the club, but they rocked the house. I went to see Lush, but came away from that concert loving Weezer. I only knew that first single, but during their songs were so catchy and fun I was instantly hooked from that performance.

The band has had its high points and not so high points. I won't say low points because I don't think there really is a bad Weezer record. This last year they have been on fire releasing 3 records in the span of about a year, Ratitude, Hurley and most recently Death To False Metal. Rivers is truly gifted with writing catchy hooks. They never cease to be fun.

This song Pork and Beans is a classic. It was from the moment it hit the airwaves. I've been at several events where this song has been on and people just start singing along. I picked up both versions of the 7" when it came out because of the 2 B-sides. I love the Psychedelic Furs and so I had to hear "Love My Way" and I was almost as excited to hear their version of R.E.M.'s "Oddfellows Local 151. Document is one of my favorite R.E.M. records. I think it may have been the first R.E.M. CD I owned. So for a short time only check these ditties out.

Enjoy!

01 Pork And Beans.m4a
02 Love My Way.m4a
02 Oddfellows Local 151.m4a

As an added bonus, here is some video of my son a couple years ago performing "Pork And Beans" at a high school battle of the bands performance. I was pretty proud of him. He and his friend Brett really got the crowd going.

Cindy Bullens - Steal The Night - 1979

This record has been sitting around waiting to be posted forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but at least 6 months. This, I think, is the last in the long line of records from the infamous new wave/power pop purchase of '08. For you long time readers you'll remember back in the spring and early summer when I was posting all kinds of new wave and power pop records from the late 70's early 80's. They were all bought at the same time at a thrift store and I was so excited I quickly digitized them all and began posting them. Somehow this one has been sitting around and I never posted it. Maybe because it isn't the strongest of the records. That doesn't mean it stinks, but it isn't as solid as the others. I certainly wasn't as excited about it. If I had been it wouldn't have taken this long to post.

This record caught my eye not only because it was part of that big purchase or what had to be someone's record collection, but also because I knew Cindy's name from the Grease soundtrack. She sang "It's Raining On Prom Night". That song cracked me up as a kid. It's not really funny, but to a little boy the line about about something falling down the sewer "with my sister's I.D." cracked my brother and I up. Dumb huh? I like the song so much that it showed up on my "Happy When It Rains Mix" that I posted earlier this year. If you haven't checked that out, do yourself a favor and do so. Might come in handy with the cold wet month upon us.

But back to this record. Off the top of my head, "Fult Tilt Rocker" though the title is kind of cheese ball the song is kind of catchy and good. In general the album was a surprise for me on how much it rocked because I was kind of thinking it may have a 50's vibe given my experience with Grease. It isn't, though, at all. No retro posturing here, just straight a head pop rock numbers. It is 1979, so you can hear a little residual disco influence in the rhythm tracks, but hey even The Stones succumbed to that.

"Real To Real" sounds more New Wave and like it could have been in "Valley Girl". It's lighter and bouncier. It holds it's own among other girl vocal bands like Scandal or The Waitresses or Josie Cotton. That should give you some point of reference. "Powerless" is another one that has a nice bounce to it. Kind of a post punk New Wave thing going on in this one as well. The opening rhythm reminds me a little of something from The Clash. I probably shouldn't compare this to The Clash, because I think that may get hopes a little too high, but it is just what came to mind while listening.

Actually, now that I'm listening to the record again, "Raincheck On Romance" does have a little retro vibe to it. I can even hear a little "It's Raining on Prom Night" in there. I'm sure if I didn't know it was the same person I wouldn't make that connection, though.

The last recommendation on the record is "Holding Me Crazy". The song has lots going on with background vocals, and musical change ups. I like it for it's ambition. It kind of stands out from the other songs on the record just for that reason.

I must say that felt good writing this much. I need to get back to posting LP's because there is always more to write about and since I've slowed down the posting I've been going through a little withdrawal. This definitely felt good. I'd love to hear what you readers think as far as what kinds of posts you like. LP's? Singles? Mixes? Genres?

So until next time,

Enjoy!

01 Full Tilt Rocker.m4a
02 Real To Real.m4a
03 Trust Me.m4a
04 Hurry Up Forever.m4a
05 Steal The Night Away.m4a
06 Too Close To Home.m4a
07 Powerless.m4a
08 Raincheck On Romance.m4a
09 Two-Track Mind.m4a
10 Holding Me Crazy.m4a

Cindy Bullens - Steal The Night - Side 1.zip
Cindy Bullens - Steal The Night - Side 2.zip

Rick Springfield - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet - 1982

I've already done a some Rick Springfield posts and expressed my recent love of his powerpop genius. Just this week I listened to his new album "Venus Overdrive" and it is sooooooo good. It sounds very current and the first 4 tracks or so are just great. There is only one track that I really wasn't fond of and that was track 10 "She".

It's been mentioned that the first track "What's Victoria's Secret" sounds a lot like Springfield from the 80's and it does. It sounds like it could be off of "Working Class Dog". In fact the guitar riff is very reminiscent of "Jessie's Girl". The other tracks however don't even sound like Rick. His voice is great and still really powerful. The subject matter has also matured which I appreciate. If you have a chance do give it a listen.

As for today's post here is one of Rick's classic 80's releases which I'm sure any fan in the 80's owned. This isn't new to anyone or hard to find. It's just nice to go back and enjoy the record all over again. "Kristina" is a highlight for me. I also like "How Do You Talk To Girls" and "I Get Excited".

By the way I find it funny that a song called "Don't Talk To Strangers" is followed by a song called "How Do You Talk To Girls" which is kind of like talking to strangers.

Enjoy!

01 Calling All Girls.mp3
02 I Get Excited.mp3
03 What Kind Of Fool Am I.mp3
04 Kristina.mp3
05 Tonight.mp3
06 Black Is Black.mp3
07 Don't Talk To Strangers.mp3
08 How Do You Talk To Girls.mp3
09 Still Crazy For You.mp3
10 The American Girl.mp3
11 Just One Kiss.mp3
12 April 24, 1981.mp3

Rick Springfield - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet.zip

I.S.H. - You're My Only Lover/It Ain't Necessarily So 12" -

I'll be honest and if you are a regular reader you may have picked up on this, but the amount of effort I've been putting into recent posts has been lacking. I do apologize. Unfortunately I'm not in a place to change that for now. I've just been a little caught up in other things and so I've been just spitting these things out. This is another one of those.

This is just another 12" record from the 80's I have in the collection. It's not the greatest, but it is okay. It is perfect for this kind of half hearted post. If anyone else wants to write in and tell some story about this group or these tracks please do.

Enjoy!

01 You're My Only Lover (Extended Dance Remix).mp3
02 You're My Only Lover (Instrumental Dub).mp3
03 It Ain't Necessarily So (Extended Dance Remix).mp3
04 It Ain't Necessarily So (Instrumental Dub).mp3

Novo Combo - Novo Combo - 1981

I have no memory of these guys from when I was a kid. This one I picked up as part of the new wave power pop purchase earlier this year. The album isn't too bad actually. Right off the bat the first track will conjure up thoughts of The Police circa "Zenyatta Mondatta".

Most of the other tracks on the record are pretty good. They also have that slight reggae/Police flavor to them. So if you are a fan of that sound then I think you'll like this record.

I don't know much more about the band. They don't even have a bio write up in allmusic. So if you know anything please chime in and fill me in.

Enjoy!

01 Up Periscope.m4a
02 City Bound (_E_ Train).m4a
03 We Need Love.m4a
04 Long Road.m4a
05 Tattoo.m4a
06 Don't Do That.m4a
07 Sorry (For The Delay).m4a
08 Axis Will Turn.m4a
09 Light Of The World.m4a
10 Do You Wanna Shake.m4a
11 Hard To Say Goodbye.m4a

Novo Combo - Side 1.zip
Novo Combo - Side 2.zip

The Producers - You Make The Heat - 1982

Last month I posted the first release from The Producers. My rips was quite flawed and I felt really bad about that. This rip of their second record is much better. The downside is that the record itself isn't quite as strong as the first LP. There are however still some excellent cuts. "She Sheila" is a catchy number and is considered by some to be one of their better numbers. I believe it appears on some power pop collections. To me it is a little reminiscent of "Kristina" by Rick Springfield. I know that may seem like a stretch, but I can't help it. That is what it reminds me of. "Operation" is another very Springfield-esque song. "Breakaway" delves into Police territory. That chinging Copeland symbol action and the vocals are very much like The Police. In fact I'm of the opinion that the deeper into the record you go the more you hear the police. Side 2 in particular has Sting, Andy and Stewart all over it. Check it out and see if I'm crazy.

Enjoy!

01 Back To Basics.m4a
02 She Sheila.m4a
03 Operation.m4a
04 Dear John.m4a
05 Breakaway.m4a
06 You Make The Heat.m4a
07 Merry-Go-Round.m4a
08 Chinatown.m4a
09 Domino.m4a


The Producers - You Make The Heat - Side 1.zip
The Producers - You Make The Heat - Side 2.zip

Glen Burtnick - Heroes And Zeros - 1987

This isn't a great record, but it's not a bad record. In fact I retract that statement. Upon further thought I'm going to say this is a pretty good record. There are definitely more good songs than just okay songs which is mostly not the case on some of these forgotten 80's albums.

I'm posting this little piece of rock archeology for a couple reasons. One someone out there might actually like it more than me. It's pretty much a straight ahead pop rock record.

Another reason to post it is because this guy has had an interesting career and among playing with a lot of big names in the music biz her replaced Tommy Shaw in Styx when he left the band. I love Styx and I think Tommy Shaw has some serious talent and some big shoes to fill. Dennis De Young obviously felt good enough about Glen to have him fill those shoes. That little career tidbit it interesting enough to warrant a listen to this 1987 release.

Also it is worth listening to because this guy is from Jersey and I find that some of these tracks sound like a poor man's version of fellow Jersey rockers Bon Jovi. Just give "Heard In On The Radio" or "Spinning My Wheels" a listen and see if you don't here it as well. This may now be as hard rockin' as the Jovi. In fact the hard rock meter is probably closer to Rick Springfield tipping the genre scales more into the power pop category. "Abalene" and "Here Comes Sally" are good examples there. Let me know what you think.

The one oddity on the record is the last track "The Day Your Ship Gets Thru". It's really a vocal pop song kind of in the vein of Backstreet Boys. I know that sound crazy, but give it a listen. Now I'm not one to go crazy over the boy bands of the last ten years, but I will acknowledge that they had vocal talent and they produced some pretty solid pop tunes. So when i compare this track to Backstreet Boys or maybe even N'Sync I do that as a positive.

Another fascinating song is "Love Goes On". It's probably the weakest track on the record for me, but I find it so interesting because it sounds like other 80's bands. The vocals are very Jovi. There is even a line about going out in a blaze of glory. No joke. But then the interesting juxtaposition is the very Journey-like guitar. Listen to what that lead guitar is doing and the specific sound its producing and tell me that's not Journey.

Another highlight it "Here Comes Sally" now which I've already compared to a Rick Springfield song. The nice thing it adds is a great bluesy harmonica bit right in the middle of this driving power pop ditty. This is my favorite song on the record.

After writing all this I'm going to revise my first paragraph and say this is a great record. You may not know the songs, but once you give them a couple listens you realize that song after song is good to great.

By the way you should price this on Amazon. Must be out of print because it's selling for quite a pretty penny. Well, here you can sample it for free and then if you think it's worth kicking out the cash, Amazon is an easy place to go. There are several used copies on vinyl and CD for sale.

Enjoy!

01 Follow You.m4a

02 Spinning My Wheels.m4a

03 Walls Came Down.m4a

04 Stupid Boys (Suckers For Love).m4a

05 Love Goes On.m4a

06 Heard It On The Radio.m4a

07 Abalene.m4a

08 Here Comes Sally.m4a

09 Scattered.m4a

10 The Day Your Ship Gets Thru.m4a

Glen Burtnick.zip

20/20 - Look Out! - 1981

"Look Out!" was 20/20's follow up to their fantastic self titled debut. The album starts off with a bouncy pop bang with "Nuclear Boy". This one has gotten many plays in recent months since I got this record. I love the power pop flavor of it. I also love the nuclear theme. It's so very 80's. After three mile island I remember the idea of being in a nuclear world being ever present in my mind as a kid. Unlike the 50's where minds speculated about crazy monsters and mutations, by the 80's we knew that was all fiction. However we did know that the facts that hiding under a chair would never save you. There was no going back to a world without nuclear power or weapons and accidents are going to happen. It was only a matter of time. Wow, that was a detour in thought.

"Out Of My Head" has a nice "Lust For Life" bouncing rhythm at the beginning. "Strange Side Of Love" is a really good one. In fact one of my favorites. "Life In The U.S.A." is a good little rocker as well. Overall this second effort is just about as strong as their first. It's too bad these guys never really took off. But now you can hunt down these records in the used bin for 99 cents and enjoy them today.

Enjoy!

01 Nuclear Boy 1.m4a
02 Out Of My Head 1.m4a
03 Strange Side Of Love 1.m4a
04 Alien 1.m4a
05 A Girl Like You 1.m4a
06 Life In The U.S.A. 1.m4a
07 The Night I Heard A Scream 1.m4a
08 Beat City 1.m4a
09 Mobile Unit 1.m4a
10 American Dream 1.m4a

20/20 - Look Out!.zip

Rick Springfield - Working Class Dog - 1981

As a kid I really liked Jesse's girl, but then I became aware that Rick Springfield was for girls and like many boys in the 5th or 6th grade, I couldn't like that. Besides he wasn't a real rock star. He was on General Hospital. Funny how stupid you can be growing up.

Today of course I think Rick Springfield is better than anyone gives him credit. I listen to this record and "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet" and I can't believe how strong his song craft and vocal chops were. I had this epiphany a few years back when I digitized those records and burned them to disc. I had them in the car and I fell in love. Sure there were the hits "Jesse's Girl" and "I've Done Everything For You", but the other tracks were strong too. There are even a hits that I kind of forgot, "Love Is All Right Tonite" and "Hole In My Heart" for example. The song kicks off the record and is basically a perfect song.

Fast forward to 2008 and I'm going through this big 80's power pop phase. So as I'm listening to all these kind of obscure acts, it hits me, Rick Springfield was basically a power pop guy. So I dig up these records and give them another listen, with that context and I like them even more. He is working with that 3 minute pop song format and rocking it to its fullest. And I do mean rocking it. This album is full of rebellious rock and roll spirit. In fact I wish I had been listening to this as a kid, because I think it would have meant more to me then. I can also see why teenage girls connected with it. The songs are about being a young girl or area bout some guy taking a girl out and romancing her.

I have to make mention here that Rick's cover of the Sammy Hagar song "I've Done Everything For You" has got to be one of the greatest pop rock songs of all time. And it is one of those rare examples where the remake outshines the original. You hear the Hagar original which is good, but it seems like a demo compared to this production perfection on the Springfield track. Everything about the song is better. The guitar has more attitude from the first machine gun into. Rick's vocals are better. That is saying something because Sammy has some serious vocal chords, but here it is all about attitude. In fact this may sound strange, but in listening to it recently I think it is fair to say that there is a bit more of a punk rock attitude in Rick's version. I can't say enough about the song.

I will mention a couple more things. There are a few lyrics that I simply love. Sammy gets credit for this. "This one way love affair ain't fair. It ain't no affair to me." The other one I like is "I'm going out on the town tonight and get as wild as I can be. I'm gonna find out what it's really like to be loose, high, and free."

"Everybody's Girl" is a number I've taken notice of recently. It has a quasi reggae rhythm thing going on for the verse and then it breaks into a great rockin' chorus. Lyrically the song is really interesting to me. It starts off as one of those "I hate this girl because she's sleeping around" kind of things. I mean this guy it warning the girl that she's going to get a bad name because she goes with all these guys. It is very judgmental. But as the song progresses you see that this is all just an act because really he still wants her.

"Daddy's Pearl" is a good one. Again this is one of those ones I think connected with the female teens. It's also got a nice catchy chorus and is a little more pop than rock. I think that the underlying fantasy here is that daddy's little girl may be going out and doing things her father may know about or approve of. This sets up the next song "Red Hot Love" perfectly which is a bluesy, sultry number that radiates sexual heat. It sounds like a wild Mardi Gras night where all the rules can be broken.

Kind of the strangest track on the record closes the album out. "Inside Sylvia" sounds spacey and trippy. But the spacey music paints a beautiful canvass on which Rick can paint a beautiful song. It's a nice quiet way to fade out the record.

Enjoy!

01 Love is Alright Tonite.mp3
02 Jessie's Girl.mp3
03 Hole In My Heart.mp3
04 Carry Me Away.mp3
05 I've Done Everything For You.mp3
06 The Light Of Love.mp3
07 Everybody's Girl.mp3
08 Daddy's Pearl.mp3
09 Red Hot & Blue Love.mp3
10 Inside Silvia.mp3

Rick Springfield - Working Class Dog.zip

Sparks - Angst In My Pants - 1982

Another great time capsule record from 1982 with a couple songs featured in the movie Valley Girl. I really shouldn't have to say any more than that. I hope I'm also not getting everyone sick with all my references to Valley Girl. It is one of the all time great 80's teen romance movies.

The only thing I think I want to comment on is the line delivery on "Angst In My Pants". I don't think there is another song on the planet that captures the pent up male frustration like the way this song does, just in the way the lyrics are delivered. I don't exactly know how to describe it, but once you hear it you really feel like this guy just has something he needs to get out, but can't.

Sparks have a long illustrious career that dates back long before this New Wave classic. Again they are products of Todd Rundgren who discovered the band and signed them to Bearsville in the early 70's. I apologize also for bringing up another Todd Rundgren reference, but i can't help it. The guy was everywhere. For more on that read here.

As a side note The Dirtbombs have a new 7" single called "Play Sparks" out that parodies the back of this Sparks record and on it they do 2 Sparks covers. One of which is "Sherlock Holmes" which is also on this album. It's decent. You should check it out if you have the chance.

Enjoy!

01 Angst In My Pants.m4a
02 I Predict.m4a
03 Sextown U.S.A..m4a
04 Sherlock Holmes.m4a
05 Nicotina.m4a
06 Mickey Mouse.m4a
07 Moustache.m4a
08 Instant Weight Loss.m4a
09 Tarzan And Jane.m4a
10 The Decline And Fall Of Me.m4a
11 Eaten By The Monsters Of Love.m4a

Here's the whole thing.
Sparks.zip

Phil Seymour - S/T - 1980

Of all the records I bought at the great New Wave/Power Pop purchase of 2008, this one had the most suspicious cover. I didn't know what to expect. I mean the body language on the back of the record jacket seems awfully feminine, so I didn't know what to expect. Was it going to be cool new wave pop music or was it going to be Leo Sayer. I'm happy to report that it is a record or great pop tunes.

"Precious To Me" kicks the thing off in perfect form. A quintessential 3 minute pop tune complete with a Frankie Valley like falseto. Pop bliss.

Phil Seymour was new to me when I picked this up. I did notice that he helped out on the 20/20 record I also bought that day. It turns out that before going solo Phil Seymour was essentially half of the creative force behind The Dwight Twilley Band. Dwight being the other half of course. I really don't know their music, but I at least have heard of them. After hearing this record I'm keeping my eyes out for any of their records as well.

"I Found A Love" is another great power pop tune. This one doesn't have the Frankie Valli falsetto, but has a little more of a rootsy rock flavor, which remaining squarely in the world of pop. The tune is catchy and light, just what you want in a powerpop tune. Me likey.

"Let Her Dance" and "Baby It's You" are fantastic and should also be pointed out. "Don't Blow Your Life Away" has shades of Wooly Bully and the theme to Peter Gunn. That comparison should perk your interest enough to want to check out that one.

The rest of the songs are all in this vein and make for a solid album on all accounts. Well crafted pop tunes to make your day brighter. For more on the release read here.

Enjoy!

01 Precious To Me.m4a
02 I Found A Love.m4a
03 Love You So Much.m4a
04 Baby It's you.m4a
05 Let Her Dance.m4a
06 Then We Go Up.m4a
07 Don't Blow Your Life Away.m4a
08 We Don't Get Along.m4a
09 Trying To Get To You.m4a
10 I Really Love You.m4a
11 Won't Finish Here.m4a

Here's the whole thing. Phil Seymour.zip

The Producers - The Producers - 1981

This is one of the highlights of my great new wave/power pop purchase of 2008. The bummer here, though is that there are a few skips in the recording. I've tried my best to get rid of them, but until I get some proper record cleaning equipment I think this is the best I can do. It is so frustrating because it isn't a scratch, but just some caked in dust or something. Well such is life and the bright side is that you can still enjoy 99.99 percent of the record.

I never heard of The Producers before this record. I was amazed to find out that they headlined the first or one of the first MTV New Years Eve shows. They have a strong Police sound to them which is very catchy. The songs are all pretty strong pop song. The first track (with a skip) is a great album opener. It really shows off the power pop chops. "I Love Lucy" is a catchy Police-like song. One songs like "Who Do You Think You Are" they really rock out. More than the police ever did. There is still a touch of the Police in there, but there is probably more Cheap Trick influence to be had.

The Producers I think are still around in some form. They have a websight that seems pretty up to date. It says they just played a date in May 2008. I think you can also order their CD's from the sight. Check it out here.

Enjoy!

01 What's He Got.m4a
02 I Love Lucy.m4a
03 Who Do You Think You Are_.m4a
04 Life Of Crime.m4a
05 Certain Kinda Girl.m4a
06 You Go Your Way.m4a
07 What She Does To Me.m4a
08 Body Language.m4a
09 Sensations.m4a
10 Here's To You.m4a
11 Boys Say When_Girls Say Why.m4a
12 The End.m4a

The Producers - Side 1.zip
The Producers - Side 2.zip

The Sights - So Much For Everlasting Love 12" EP - 1982

Here's a somewhat obscure selection from the early 80's. It's an EP by The Sights who were jamming out New Wave tunes around Los Angeles during the height of this whole movement. The 4 songs here are all pretty strong. The opening track is great little guitar driven song. "Dirty Bop" is a dirty power pop rocker that is also quite tastey.

For more on this EP check out this blog. On this site there a bunch of comments from people about this record and one person writes about everything The Sights released. Here's what I copied and pasted.

1981 - "The Sights"
1. 98.6 Again
2. Twice As Hard
3. I'll Make You Love Me
4. Nothing New
5. Dirty Bop

1982 - "So Much For Everlasting Love"
1. So Much For Everlasting love
2. Lead Me Down
3. Wax Museum
4. Dirty Bop

1983 - "Virginia"
1. Virginia
2. Virginia (Remix)

I also have various B-sides and demo versions. B-side titles include:
-Disease
-Too Much To Live For (my favorite Sights song)
-Ill Tell You From My Heart
-Friends
-Happy hour
-Give Me a Gun
-Keep Your Place


Enjoy!

01 So Much For Everlasting Love.m4a
02 Lead Me Down.m4a
03 Wax Museum.m4a
04 Dirty Bop.m4a

The Sights.zip